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Snake skins are a convenience, but you probably could sell them. All of the stuff you mentioned seems to be convenience driven. HH stock will work fine if you're trying to keep costs down.

Some good non stretchy line ( poly, not nylon) to hang the hammock.

Bottom insulation, top insulation, weather protection are most important, even in warm weather. It's amazing how cold you can get on your back in a hammock.

I live in GA and use something on the bottom, even in summer. If its forecasted for lows less than 75, I use a 40 degree under quilt and a 45 degree sleeping bag.

A sleeping pad is fine for bottom insulation, but to me is not nearly as comfortable. Your HH has a built in tarp I assume, so you're good there.

You're not going to get it just i right first time, stick with it. . When in doubt, add MORE sag to flatten your lay.

Pitch your hammock as a test once or twice in a "safe" place like a yard or state park during daylight hours to test it out. That way in a pinch, you're not trying to figure it out.

Lastly, everyone needs to carry way too much weight and stuff a couple times to learn what works for them. There a certain things i carry that any seasoned hiker would giggle at, but I want them and that's how I hike.

I recommend changing to a different suspension method. That way works but it will eventually damage your suspension rope. I know because it's the method I started out with. It'll be fine for now, but change it when you can.

Do you have some kind of under insulation, either a pad or an UQ?

"As a well spent day brings happy sleep, a well spent life brings happy death." -Da Vinci

thanks. Okay, so it seems that I need some sort of underquilt....I will have to research that. What about a sleeping pad that I have for tent camping? Too big to backpack with, but for this trip we will have a car. Family will be in the tent and I will be "trying" to hang.

So the quick method with the rings is a bad set up? I just thought it looked easy. I could have everything set up and just hang up the straps and string through and then tighten....... I guess if life could only be that easy.

I used descender (rappelling) rings with my HH Deep Jungle for about the first six months or so (and I hang full time at the house). They will work but I found them a bit difficult to adjust, especially after a load had been applied. Make sure you tie a couple of slip knots above the rings after you've got them adjusted where you want to or you will end up on your butt very suddenly. Ask me how I know

You should get some tree straps to wrap around the tree so as not to damage it. You can get some from Gary at ReadyStrap:

Look in his "Single and Double Eye Strap" section and get a pair of single eye straps about 10 feet long. You can just run the tag end of the strap through the sewn eye when you wrap it around the tree and it will hold just fine. If you look in his "Outdoor Strap" section, he also makes something called the Lock & Load Quickdraw. I still use these on my Hennessy as I find cinch buckles to be easier to use (YMMV). To keep the Hennessy stock (and thus preserve its resale value), I just tie the HH rope through the eye of the Lock N Load, and then use the cinch buckle to attach to the tree strap. You will still need to tie a couple of knots above the buckle to keep from slipping.

The advice given above about under insulation is very good, and probably most critical to your comfort and enjoyment, especially in Michigan in the late summer. Last weekend we had a Hang down here in Texas where temps were in the low 90s during the day and low 70s during the night. Some of us (including me) needed something underneath to keep the chill off. Your pad should work, but you will likely have a bit of trouble getting it lined up and staying in place. A good quick and relatively inexpensive short term solution would be to rig an Army surplus Poncho Liner as an underquilt. Just Google PLUQ and you'll find a couple of How To's of ways to rig one up. There's a "No Sew" method that you can use to preserve the value of the Poncho Liner as well, but its a pretty good piece of gear (great to keep in the back seat or trunk of the car), so you'll likely want to keep it if you decide not to continue hanging.

thanks. Okay, so it seems that I need some sort of underquilt....I will have to research that. What about a sleeping pad that I have for tent camping? Too big to backpack with, but for this trip we will have a car. Family will be in the tent and I will be "trying" to hang.

So the quick method with the rings is a bad set up? I just thought it looked easy. I could have everything set up and just hang up the straps and string through and then tighten....... I guess if life could only be that easy.

Are there other suspension methods?

Boy I have a lot to learn.

Don't be nervous, I was where you where about a month ago, this place helps a lot.

As for suspension, I say leave the biners and rings at home and watch the video on the lashing at the Hennessey website. It does take a bit more time but is easy to learn. Also I would order the longer tree straps, the stock ones are too small. One of the reasons I went with a Warbonnet Blackbird is because the suspension can be easily changed out and his cinch buckle suspension system is one of the easiest to use, it comes ready to hang and only requires 2 biners. There are also whoopee slings which opens up a whole new can of worms. All I can say about them is there are the current lightweight champion of hammock suspension, I will let someone else with more experience talk more about them. Or better yet, watch that video up there by Shug entertaining and educational.